Gardening This Weekend: February 13, 2025
Here are the most critical things as I see them for our great state, Gulf Coast to the Panhandle. This is going to be bumpy. Hang onto your bloomers.
PLANT
• South Texas vegetables: Irish potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard. Wait 1 week in North Central Texas due to current cold. Wait 2-3 weeks in Panhandle.
• Finish dormant-season transplanting all across Texas. This must be done before plants start breaking bud for spring growth.
PRUNE
• Peach and plum trees before they come into bud. South Texas gardeners may have problems already. Goal is to remove all decidedly vertical shoots so that trees will develop strong outward limbs.
• Evergreen shrubs to reshape them before they begin new growth for the spring. Hurry in South Texas. You have only a few days in North Texas. You want to let plants take advantage of their burst of new growth to fill in any voids.
• Keep telling yourself: never “top” a crape myrtle. There is never a bona fide reason to do so. Never. It ruins their form forever and it seriously impacts their total bloom.
• Finish all pruning of bush roses. See story last week to know how to inspect your plants for rose rosette virus.
FERTILIZE
• Asparagus immediately with all-nitrogen, fast-release fertilizer such as 21-0-0.
• Winter and early spring annual color with high-nitrogen, water-soluble plant food.
• Liquid root stimulator to newly planted and transplanted trees and shrubs.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• Broadleafed weedkiller spray to eliminate non-grassy weeds in lawn, including clover, dandelions, chickweed, thistles, plantain and others.
• Concentrations of aphids on tender new growth. Wash off with hard stream of water or apply general-purpose organic or inorganic insecticide.
• Wrap trunks of newly planted oaks, maples, and Chinese pistachios to prevent sunscald. Leave wrapped for 18 to 24 months. Without that protection the trees can lose big chunks of bark after 3 or 4 years. Decay will set in, and the tree will often be lost.